MP supports college campaign to save ESOL funding

Rochdale’s MP, Simon Danczuk, visited Hopwood Hall College’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) department in support of a campaign to save ESOL funding – which the coalition government is planning to significantly reduce.

Mr Danczuk was given letters students had written and agreed to present them to the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Government and ask them to review the decision to dramatically cut ESOL funding.

Mr Danczuk spoke in support of provision of ESOL as a means to ensure people are able to speak, understand, read and write English, and integrate effectively into UK culture. He was particularly pleased to hear the students’ desire to learn English so that they could effectively integrate into the workforce and transfer their skills and education to the UK workplace; he also highlighted the net value to the economy of educating newly arrived groups.